Envy
by Allithea
Summary: One shot. Jason POV. Percy is traumatized after leaving Tartarus, and pulls a stunt that nearly ends his life. In their effort to help him heal, Jason finds out that Percy has one thing that would make any demigod jealous, including, to his surprise, himself.


Until that day, until that one moment, Jason Grace had never envied anyone.

He had dealt with jealously in reverse. As a child of Jupiter who could manipulate air currents, fly, and smote people down with lightening, people envied him of his powers. Those who didn't envy his powers envied his discipline, his leadership, and his swordsmanship.

Jason admired many people, Piper for one, but also Leo, Annabeth, Reyna, even Percy, all for different reasons. But no one, not one, had ever inspired him to be envious, to feel jealous about anything: until Percy Jackson, but even then, not until that one day, until that one moment.

It wouldn't have been a big deal, but everyone on the quest found out.

Jason didn't envy Percy for the reasons most people would.

Jason didn't envy Percy's position on the quest. They were equals, both powerful, both respected, both able fighters. They passed the leadership role back and forth while on the Argo II.

Jason didn't envy Percy's road on the quest. Jason would be happy the rest of his life, both the living and dead parts, never seeing the inside of Tartarus.

Jason didn't envy Percy's position at Camp Half Blood. The guy earned it. He had completed more quests, dealt with more problems than any other demigod that Jason had ever met. Over that, he was the most powerful Greek demigod, without competition.

Jason didn't envy Percy's leadership ability. Percy didn't have much in the way of true leadership skills, in the Roman sense. The guy wouldn't be running a corporation when he grew up. Percy did what he did because he cared about his friends, and no other reason. Percy wasn't the guy to make a hard choice about which people to send into dangerous situations. He couldn't plan for a long battle. Percy had trouble sometimes even seeing the greater good. It was a good thing he wasn't a Praetor for very long. Reyna would have had her hands full just teaching him the basics.

Jason didn't envy Percy's abilities. Even after Jason had seen the full extent of them, he still preferred his own. Lightening and flying seemed more useful in more places than storms and breathing underwater. Percy had a strange collection of other powers, most of the only pseudo useful, like talking to horses, but some were downright frightening, like the stunt he pulled at the doors of death.

Jason still had nightmares about that day.

In his dreams, he flinched, or waited a second too long, or sometimes he missed. In all versions of the dream, Jason watched in horror as Percy fell, tumbling head over heels, until his body smashed into the rocky forest of the Grecian mountains.

The real memory wasn't much better. Percy managed, somehow – and he never told anyone how – to get Annabeth clear of the doors of the death. She wasn't breathing when he draped her unconscious form across Arion, with Hazel on his back. Percy gave the horse a look and Arion shot off like his life depended on it. It did. But at that moment, only Arion had any idea what he was going to do.

Jason figured later that even Percy didn't really know what he was going to do. Half insane from his experience, in pain from multiple injuries, and knowing that Annabeth was dead or dying, Percy couldn't have been able to hold on to a thought, much less make a plan.

Percy told Jason to buy him some time, and he would close the door himself. Jason had argued with him, saying something logical and cool headed. Percy had given him a look that Jason would carry with him until his dying day. Percy's eyes stood out on his face, green against the purple bruises, the black grime, and the cuts that lined his cheeks and forehead. His eyes held anger, deep pain, and torment boarding on madness.

Jason let Percy go, or more truthfully, he couldn't stop him. He, Nico, and Frank managed to distract the monsters long enough for Percy to slip back to the doors. When Jason looked over, Percy stood still focusing on the ground.

Nico followed Jason's gaze. Then Nico paled.

"He wouldn't," Nico said looking at Jason, "Would he?"

"Do what?" Jason asked.

The ground began to shake. With a yell that Jason shouldn't have been able to hear from the distance away, Percy let out an unholy scream and punched Riptide straight into the ground.

"He would," Nico squeaked. "RUN!"

Nico took off faster than Jason would have believed possible. Jason's head snapped back and forth from watching Nico flee and watching Percy stand statue still over his sword in the Earth. The ground beneath his feet rolled and bounced.

Words from Homer's poem ran through Jason's head as he fought to keep his balance, 'Lord Poseidon, God of the Sea, The Earth Shaker.'

Percy caught Jason's eyes and yelled something which Jason's couldn't hear, but the intent was clear.

"Frank! Retreat! Get back to the ship!" Jason yelled to large boy. "FLY."

With that Jason gathered up the air currents around him and lifted into the air. A giant eagle swooped and circled around him before turning and flying to the Argo II.

"NICO!" Jason yelled to the bird.

A quick swoop and the eagle grabbed the boy by his shoulders. With silver wings flashing, the eagle and dangling boy covered half the distance to the floating ship in seconds.

Jason turned so he could fly backward and watch Percy. Percy gave Jason a small smile, and then kneeling down, he yelled again. The sound pierced Jason through his guts. Percy screamed like his arms were being pulled off of his body, torture and pain and the last bit of strength all rolled into one horrifying sound.

A column of lava exploded on the spot where Percy stood. The heat and sudden blast pushed Jason back 100 feet.

Once he stopped spinning, Jason's jaw dropped. Lava pushed 40 feet into the sky. It super cooled as it hit the air, sending small gray pumice in every direction. At its base, red, turning black lava oozed around the hole, filling the space. Black rock rose bit by bit, like sand falling in an hour glass, covering the doors of death with burning rock.

Chaos reigned around the doors. Monsters darted everywhere, some in the doors, some out of the doors, some burning, and some screaming. Monsters died in droves.

Jason, heart in his stomach, looked around for Percy. Could anyone survive that stunt? Could a demigod? Jason doubted it. Percy must have been incinerated on the spot.

Then in the air, 1000 feet above his head, Jason saw a black rock tumbling to the ground, a rock with dangling arms and legs.

Jason shot off after it. He forced the wind faster and faster. The closer he got, the figure of Percy came into view. He tumbled like a rag doll, his arms and legs flopping, his neck rolling.

Jason flew into Percy like a freight train into a stalled car. Jason grabbed him, only to realize that Percy was burning like the lava he unleashed. He was thousands of degrees hot. Had Jason not been used to the power and heat of lightening, he would have burned like a bun around a flaming hot dog.

Jason overcame his shock in time to see the ground rushing toward them. They were going way too fast.

The voice of the one of the laries came to him as he raced toward the rocky ground, "It's not the fall that will kill you; it's the sudden stop."

Jason put everything he had into forcing the air upwards. Jason screamed, both in pain from his burning body and the effort of controlling the wind.

Jason slammed into the ground, pulling their momentum into a tumbling roll, using the air to buffer them from the stony ground. He rolled once and then twice before his shoulder hit an outcropping of rock. Jason yelped. Percy slipped from his grasp and went flying in a different direction.

Jason focused and slowing himself down, rolling and thickening the air in front of him into soup. Another couple of rolls and Jason found himself laying face up, staring up at blue sky turning black from the smoke rolling out of the volcano.

His whole body ached, his hands stung, and the world spun around in circles. He shut his eyes against the rotating trees above. By the time he tried to open his eyes again, Leo and Piper were standing over him.

"Are you okay?" Piper said, kneeling down next to him.

Truthfully, Jason didn't know. He said, "Probably," but it came out as a groan.

Leo handed Piper a canteen and Piper propped up his head with her hand, bring the canteen to his lips. He took a few sips of the nectar of the gods. The world stopped spinning abruptly, like the tilt a whirl coming to a sudden stop. Jason blinked and rubbed his eyes and tried to stop his head from reeling.

After a moment, he felt better. He took a deep breath. He was okay. The achiness he felt didn't leave, but nothing was broken, he could tell.

After another minute, Jason sat up, looking around. They were almost a mile from where the cone shaped volcano grew up out of the ground. Piper gave him another sip of the nectar.

"Piper! Leo!" Frank called in panic from somewhere nearby. "We need some help over here."

"Percy," Jason said, getting back to his feet, his heart leaping up into his throat.

He wobbled a bit, and Piper steadied him. Leo headed off. In a half walk, with Jason half leaning on Piper, they headed over to where Percy lay.

Frank and Nico stood over Percy, who lay on to his back. Percy looked awful. Angry burns covered all exposed skin. His hair still smoldered, his clothes were torn and burning in places.

"His heart has stopped!" Frank said, his voice squeaking, pointing to Percy.

"He's dying," Nico said from the ground, kneeling next to him. "His soul is leaving his body."

"Annabeth?" Piper asked Nico.

"She's alive. She's not crossing over. Percy is close," Nico said. "We have to do something now."

Jason's muscles ached, his head throbbed, and weakness pulled as his knees. He wanted to sink to the ground and pass out. But he had to try.

"Back up everyone," He commanded, or tried, it came out sounding as feeble as a mouse. Everyone did as he said.

Jason pulled at the air, summing lightening. It wasn't hard, the volcano created ash clouds that were sparking even as they rose off the ground. The key to this maneuver was to not get too much. Once he had a nice charge on his hand, he placed his hand over Percy's heart, and released it.

Percy screamed, every muscle twitched, his back arched up, and the electrical current flickered around his body like a plasma ball. It lasted for what seemed like forever, then Percy's body stopped twitching and he fell silent.

Leo winced, "Water and electricity, that's got to hurt."

Frank placed his head on Percy's chest and sighed with relief. "His heart is beating."

Everyone looked to Nico, "He's alive; his soul is anchored back into his body. I don't think he's happy about it, but he's there."

From his place kneeling at Percy's side, Jason found it too hard to stay upright anymore. He slumped to the ground at Percy's side. From what seemed like miles away, he heard Frank say something about getting everyone back on the ship.

When Jason woke up again, he was on the Argo II in the infirmary. Annabeth lay, pale and still, on one of the cots near him. Jason couldn't see Percy, but he assumed the other cot in the room, the one that Leo and Piper were standing over, was his. Jason could understand Piper's presence in here, taking care of the wounded, but Leo surprised him. Leo dealt with all things mechanical.

"Hey," Jason said to their backs, "How is he?"

Piper turned. Lines drew across her face and her hands were clenched into fists, but smiled at him, a heart melting smile that Jason loved.

"Good, you're awake. You had us worried," she said. Then she looked back down at the cot in front of her.

"What's wrong," Jason said.

Piper sighed looking back over to him, "Annabeth is in a coma."

"And Percy?" Jason pressed.

Piper didn't say anything, her gaze returned to Percy, both anguish and worry returning to her face.

Leo answered, "Wishes he was in a coma."

Jason pushed himself up to a sitting position, and then once he knew he wouldn't fall over, he walked over to where Piper and Leo stood. Jason looked down at Percy and then in horror pulled Piper to him. He held her tight, burying his face in her shoulder just for a second, until he could steady himself and look again.

Percy lay on the cot, his green eyes half open, which was the worst of it. He was awake and he was aware. His eyes were glazed in pain. Percy met Jason's eyes and with them begged Jason to make the pain stop.

His face had been cleaned. Now that the grime was gone, Jason could see the damage. One of his eyes was surrounded in deep black, the bruise spread all the way down to his chin. He had two cuts on his face, one on his forehead and one on his cheek. There was a large cut on the side of his neck all the way down to his collarbone. The rest was covered in healing burns, skin fading from bright red as Jason watched.

Percy's torso looked blotchy; it was literally black and blue, black from burns, blue from bruises that covered his chest. From his battle experience Jason saw a couple of bruises that might mean broken ribs, and a painful lump that probably meant a broken arm. There were other wounds, cuts, scrapes, and bruises on his legs. One of his knees was scabbed over. The worst of it was that Percy's right hand, his sword hand, had been burned totally black from fingertips to wrist.

How could he possibly be awake through all of that? How could he still be alive?

Then Jason noticed what Leo was doing. He was about to comment, when Leo relieved his need to ask.

"This was Nico's idea. He said that Percy's body can heal in water."

Piper continued, "Coach Hedge did what he could with nature magic and we've given him as much nectar and ambrosia as we think he can stand. This is all we have left."

Leo had converted what looked like spare pieces of hull into a makeshift bathtub that he was filling with water from a hose connected to the sink. His other hand was on fire, holding the side of the tub, warming the water.

"That should be good," Leo said to Piper. "Would you turn off the water?"

Piper nodded, and slipped out under Jason's arm. The water stopped flowing.

"Can we put his head underwater?" Leo asked, looking at Piper as she walked back to them.

"We've seen him breathe underwater a hundred times before," Jason answered, "Why would it be different now?"

"I don't know about you and the flying stuff, but my fire thing kinda goes haywire when I'm tired, or not feeling good. Maybe the breathing thing doesn't work so well when he's…" Leo dropped off.

"When he's…" Piper tried and failed herself to finish the sentence.

"Yeah," Jason said.

"Yeah," Leo agreed, stuffing his hands into his tool belt.

"Let's not find out," Jason said with a shrug. "Can we leave his head out?"

Leo nodded. "Yeah, just give me a minute."

Jason nodded. Leo assembled the rest of the metal on the floor into a makeshift inclined plane. He pushed it into the tank, so that one end was higher than the other. Then together, as gently as possible, they moved Percy from his cot to the tub. It wasn't gentle enough. Percy alternated from moaning to screaming during the move. Then, as his body sunk into the water, his eyes rolled up into the back of his head and he passed out.

They got him positioned with his head above the water and almost at once, wounds started healing, bruises started fading, and the burns began to heal over.

"Nico wasn't kidding," Jason said. "Let just hope this works."

It did, it just took a long time. It took 4 days for Percy to heal enough to come out of the water. He got up and went straight to Annabeth. He sat at her bedside, he never said a word. Not even a sound passed his lips.

Everyone tried to get him to talk. Frank and Hazel tried for a long time, and then Nico. They all knew him best. After they tried and failed, Leo tried his jokes, and Piper even tried charmspeak. Nothing worked. Percy ate a steady diet of nectar and ambrosia that Piper forced down his throat, using charmspeak, but he refused to eat food. She couldn't even charmspeak him to eat.

Jason thought he couldn't have looked worse than that first day they got him back. But he did. His eyes grew bloodshot and sunken. He paled until his skin looked like Nico's. He seemed to be getting skinner daily. Although there were no noticeable injuries left on his body, he seemed to favor his right hand and occasionally he would grimace and hold his chest.

They asked Jason to talk to him. Jason seemed to be the only person who understood it was pointless. Percy had been through too much to be able to talk about it yet. But they asked him, begged him really, so Jason decided that he would sit with Percy while Percy sat with Annabeth.

Jason didn't try and talk to him. He just sat across the cot from Annabeth. Percy had looked at him for just a second, his eyes flashed in some emotion, then they deadened flat, looking more blue than green.

Jason said nothing. He sat staring at Annabeth, letting his thoughts drift like hawks riding wind currents. They sat together for a long time, Jason half mediating, watching Annabeth breathe. Then after his legs started to cramp and he couldn't control his fidgeting anymore, Jason stood up. He gave Percy a grim smile, and walking over to him, he put his hand on his shoulder.

"Hang in there man," he said. "She's going to come out of it. Annabeth is a fighter, and she never gives up."

Jason gave Percy's shoulder a gentle squeeze, then he headed to the door. Just as he was going to turn the knob and leave, Jason heard a quiet sob. He looked back. Percy's head was lying on Annabeth cot, his whole body shaking. Annabeth, pale as death, didn't move.

Jason's stomach clenched. He was a warrior, a leader. He didn't know what to do.

As fate had it, Piper showed up just then, to check on Annabeth and give Percy more nectar and ambrosia. Jason backed up to let her in. Piper looked between Percy's sobbing form and Jason standing by the door. She gave Jason a scathing look and crossed over to Percy.

Piper sat on the bed next to where Percy was crying. She touched him on his shoulder and helped him sit back up. She then pulled him into a hug. Percy cried silently, clinging to Piper like his life depended on it. Jason crossed over to them and sat back down on the chair he had just left.

Percy looked up and caught Jason's eyes.

"I couldn't help her," Percy said, pulling back from Piper, looking desperately at Jason. "She couldn't handle it. The visions, the sounds, the smells…" Percy broke off. "She starting hallucinating, and fought me. She would scream at me, yell horrible things at me. And sometimes, I couldn't tell if she was Annabeth. Sometimes she looked like a monster, or worse, my old stepfather, Gabe. And then, she didn't wake up all. She still hasn't woken up. I can't remember if I fought her, or if it was a dream, or if she attacked me. But she didn't wake up."

"This isn't your fault," Piper whispered. "You couldn't have stopped anything. It's incredible that you were able to do what you did."

"Why," Percy screamed at Jason, suddenly furious. "Why do they keep doing this to me? What did I ever do to deserve this?"

"The gods," Jason questioned.

"Yes, the gods. It wasn't enough for me to defend Olympus from Kronos, or fight Atlas, or Hyperion, or the twin giants, or Ares, or return Zeus's master bolt, or Hades' sword. It's never enough. No matter what I do. What do I get? I just get more problems, more world ending events. More of my friends get hurt, more of my friends die… "

He looked over at Annabeth and tears overflowed his eyes again. Piper placed a hand on his back.

Percy's shouting drew a crowd. In ones and twos all the other demigods on the ship joined them. They stood in a crowded heap at the door. Frank was conspicuous in height, the rest crowded around him like he was a tree, shading them from view.

Percy locked Jason into a death stare, "I can't do this anymore, Jason. Do you understand? I can't do this. I want to go home."

Jason stared back at him. Jason understood. He understood too much. He knew that Percy was at his breaking point. He had been through too much; he had lost his ability to cope. But he also knew that the gods needed Percy and the war was far from over. Gaea's forces wouldn't be able to use the doors the death anymore, thanks to Percy, but she was still waking. Many of her forces were still in the world.

Nico stepped forward out of the crowd and crossed to where Percy sat next to Piper. The son of Hades had recovered insomuch as he had gained some weight, but he was still pale and the time he spent in Tartarus still could be seen in his eyes. Nico crossed his arms in front of his chest and glared at Percy.

"You know why this all happens to you Percy?" Nico said, and continued without waiting for an answer, "Because you are still alive. And at least part of the reason that you are still alive is because my sister Bianca gave her life to save yours."

Percy flinched and hunched over as if Nico had punched him in stomach.

"Whether you like it or not, you are the most powerful demigod of the age, the first child born to Poseidon in two generations. You were born for this work. The world will keep presenting evil because that what it does. And if you aren't there to meet it, who will?"

Percy brought his eyes up to meet Nico's. "You. Jason. Frank. Hazel. Piper. Leo. The legions at Camp Jupiter. The campers at Camp Half Blood."

"And how far will any of us get? Knowing that you gave up?" Nico demanded. "You owe me, Jackson. You owe my sister."

Percy stood up, towering over Nico, "I don't owe you. How many times have I saved your butt?"

Nico stood his ground, "And how many times did I save yours, just by helping get the curse of Achilles? Let's face it, without the other, we both would have been dead twenty times over."

Percy didn't seem to have an answer for that one. He seemed to deflate.

Nico continued, "You're not giving up. You're not walking away. There is too much riding on this."

"Can't you understand?" Percy said, pleading with the younger boy, "I don't have anything left. The last months all I could think about was Annabeth and now she's … I can't do this anymore."

"Yes, you can," Nico said. Nico turned to Leo and asked, "Leo, how long before we reach New York?"

Leo's eyes flashed open wide and he stammered for a minute before he said, "A couple of hours."

"We need to make a stop in Manhattan," Nico said to the group. To Percy he asked, "When's the last time you saw your mom?"

Percy froze, his eyes widened.

Nico repeated in a soft voice, "Percy, when was the last time you saw your mom? And Paul?"

"Last August, before Hera took my memory," Percy whispered. "It's been almost a whole year."

The fight and anger drained out of Percy like water swirling out of a drain. He paled again, looking almost as bad as he did when he came out of the doors.

Nico smiled at Percy, a knowing smile that held as much kindness as Jason had ever seen from the strange boy.

"Before we go to Camp Half Blood, we need to stop in Manhattan. Percy needs to see his parents," Nico said. "Are we okay with that?"

Jason looked to the group huddled in the door. Frank, Hazel and Leo all nodded.

Leo said, "I'll go change course and put us back into the water."

Leo left the room. Hazel stepped forward for the first time.

"Percy," she said stepping forward and taking his arm. "Come on. You need to get cleaned up. You wouldn't want your mom to worry would you?"

Percy didn't argue. He allowed Hazel and Frank to steer him out of the room and down the hall toward the showers.

Jason turned to Nico, "I don't like this. We don't have a lot of time to spare. Rome has been attacking Camp Half Blood for almost 2 weeks now. How long can the Camp hold? We need to get there as soon as we can."

Nico sighed and rubbed the back of his black hair, "We head back and do what? Percy is the only Greek that the Romans trust, or at least trusted. Frank and Hazel are traitors to them, and with you, they don't know what to think. We head back to Camp Half Blood with Percy like this and Annabeth," he gestured over toward her "like that. It would give the Greeks more reason to fight. It could make things worse."

"He's right," Piper said, standing up from Annabeth's bed. "You can't do this alone. Hera switched the two of you for a reason. Both of you need to work together to get this to stop."

"And Percy can't do that right now," Nico said, looking over to the door where Percy had just left. "But after he sees his mother, he'll feel better."

"You're sure?" Jason asked.

"Yeah," Nico said, smiling with a far way look in his eyes. "His mom is great person. One of the kindest people I have ever met."

"He's in no shape to go alone," Piper said. "If he's attacked or wanders off…"

"Nico?" Jason asked. "Sounds like you know his mom. Do you want to go with him? Make sure he's okay and gets back?"

"I'd like too." Nico said with a sigh. "But I don't think I should go. Sally will fuss over me. Percy needs them to himself. How about Piper? She's great with delicate situations. And she could talk him into coming back whether he wants to or not."

Jason shook his head, "I don't like it. If they're attacked by monsters, and if Percy's like me, he can attract monsters like no one else, Piper would have to defend both of them by herself. "

"And?" Piper said, irritated. "Are you saying that I couldn't defend us?"

Jason mentally backpedaled. He hadn't meant for it to come out that way.

"It would just be hard," Jason said, putting up his hands in surrender. "We don't want to see you, either of you, get hurt. That's the last thing we need," looking at Annabeth.

"He's right," Nico said, "And besides, it might be weird for Percy's parents if a gorgeous girl who is not Annabeth showed up with him at the door. More questions, more explanations. "

Piper's expression lost its angry look, Jason gut untwisted.

"So who's left," Jason wondered aloud. "Me, Frank, and Leo."

"Leo might accidently destroy something," Piper pointed out.

"So Frank?" Jason said. "He knows Percy better than I do."

"I think you should go," Nico said.

"Why?"

"Because Percy and your sister are friends. Sally knows Thalia. She'll be more comfortable around you. Besides, there's the whole "other camp" problem, and if Frank goes it will require a lot more explanation, where's the other camp, the dual nature of the gods and so on. You can say, Hey, I'm Jason Grace, Thalia's brother, I'll just go hang out in the kitchen."

Jason somehow doubted he would get off that easily, but of everyone on the ship, Nico probably knew Percy the best, after Annabeth. If Nico thought that Jason would be the least intrusive, he was probably right.

So four hours later Jason found himself strolling through the streets of New York City. Percy seemed to know where they were going. He didn't say a word. Jason announced that he be coming with him and Percy seemed to accept that. They walked a few block off the water where Leo had docked the ship and then descended into the subway. They changed trains and when the exited back to the street, they were in a street lined with apartment buildings.

Jason followed a step behind him as Percy walked along the blocks until he arrived at a building. He stared at it for a full minute.

"You all right?" Jason asked giving him a sidelong glance.

Percy still didn't say anything. He nodded, his eyes still locked on the building.

"Come on," Jason said.

Jason led the way to the door. The doorman gave them both a weird look.

"Who are you here to see?"

Jason's eye widened and he turned to Percy. This is why Nico should have come. Jason didn't even know the names of the people they were visiting. If Jason could read normally, he could have lifted a name off the mailbox behind him, but he couldn't. So Jason turned to give Percy an encouraging look.

It wasn't enough. Percy still looked shell shocked and wasn't talking. Then Jason nudged Percy with his elbow.

"Who are we here to visit?" Jason prompted him. "I don't know your parent's names."

Percy came out of his daze enough to take in the doorman. "Oh, yeah, sorry. I'm Percy. Percy Jackson. My mom is Sally Jackson, and my step father is Paul Blofis."

"Paul and Sally's boy? You are the one who disappeared last year."

"Yeah," Percy said.

The doorman's mouth dropped opened. "They've been torn up. They told me a few months ago that you had been kidnapped by your aunt. And that you lost your memory due to the trauma. You only recently realized who you were and when you did, you were in Alaska."

Jason chuckled. It was an apt explanation.

Percy shot Jason an irritated look. To the doorman he said, "More or less."

Jason added; he couldn't help it, "Aunt Juno can be a handful."

"Like you got treated any better," Percy shot back.

"My memory loss only lasted a few weeks. You got the full 9 months. She likes me better."

"That's because she's your step-mother. Your own mother gave you up at age 2 to please her."

"My mother didn't have any choice and you know that. Besides, Lady Juno is not my step-mother."

"Yeah, she is," Percy shot back.

"No she's not," Jason said. Juno was a goddess, patron of marriage. She was not his step-mother like something out of Cinderella.

"Think it about it. Who is she married too?"

"My father… oh… crap." Jason had never really thought about it that way. "That doesn't count."

"No," Percy agreed. "It doesn't count. The more you think about it, the worse it gets. Think about who our grandfather is."

"Oh man…"

The doorman followed the exchange like he was watching a tennis match, his brow furrowing deeply.

"Who are you exactly?" the doorman asked giving Jason a measured look.

"I'm Jason Grace, Percy's … um… friend?"

"Then how come it is that you both have the same aunt who is your step-mother. Your aunt is also your step-mother?"

"Yeah. His father is married to his sister," Percy put in with something more like a Percy grin than Jason had seen since the doors of death. "Our fathers are brothers and his father married their sister. It was his step-mother aunt that kidnapped me. And him too."

"You both got kidnapped?"

"Yeah," Jason agreed shrugging his shoulders.

"I didn't hear anything about a second missing boy." The doorman said.

"My mother is dead, and like Percy said, she gave me up at age two. There was no one to report me missing. Aunt Juno just took me."

"That's a weird name," the doorman said. "Have you ever seen that movie Juno?"

"Nope," the two boys said together.

"Well, I won't keep you, Percy. Welcome home," the doorway said. He opened the door for them and let them in.

A minute later they were standing out front of an apartment. Once again, Percy stood in a trance, staring at the door for a long time. Jason shook his head and without waiting for Percy, he knocked on the door.

A man in his early forties answered. He was good looking in a rugged way, with graying hair, a fit body and bright eyes.

He took one look at them standing there and his eye's widened and his mouth dropped open. He pulled the door open wide and grabbed Percy, pulling him into a tight hug.

"Percy, thank God. We were so worried. Sally!"

A woman of about the same age came to the door. She looked something like Percy in the face, but she was mousy with long brown hair and kind eyes. As soon as she saw who was at the door, she ran to them and threw her arms around the other side of Percy.

"Percy," she sobbed into his side. "Percy."

Percy's step-father backed off and Percy's mom held him so tightly, she placed her cheek on his shoulder. Percy was silently crying on the top of his mother's head.

"I'm so sorry mom," Percy said, his voice thick. "I'm so sorry."

Percy and his mother walked back into the apartment leaving Jason outside with Percy's stepfather.

"I'm Paul Blofis," he said extending a hand to Jason. "Thank you so much for bringing Percy home."

"Jason Grace," Jason said returning the shake.

"Are you related to Thalia, Percy's friend?"

"Yeah, she my sister," Jason said smiling.

Paul gestured for them to go into the apartment. Jason followed him in. Percy and his mom were sitting on the couch, his mother was still crying, holding one of his hands. Percy seemed to be mumbling something.

"So Thalia's brother huh?" Paul asked, leading Jason into the kitchen.

"Yeah," Jason said with a small smile. "She's my full sister. We have the same mother and same father, mostly."

"Mostly?" Paul asked. "You mostly have the same father?"

"My mother met Zeus and they had Thalia. Then later, my father, in his Roman form Jupiter, fell for my mother again."

"So you didn't go to Camp Half Blood?"

"Only recently," Jason said. "I was giving to Lupa, the wolf goddess when I was a toddler. She raised me until I was old enough to go to Camp Jupiter. It's a camp like the one Percy goes too, only it's for Roman demigods, not Greek demigods."

The two walked into the small kitchen at the back of the apartment. Jason walked over and looked out the window. The broad city sprawled around them in every direction. From here, Jason couldn't see the ocean at all, couldn't tell that they were on an island.

"Would you like anything to eat or drink?" Paul asked, gesturing for Jason to sit at the kitchen table.

"No thanks. I just ate a little bit ago."

"Can you tell me," Paul began, "What happened? Percy looks like hell."

"He's been there," Jason said, holding Paul's eyes with his own so that the older man will understand the seriousness. "And back. Literally. He and Annabeth fell into Tartarus."

Paul looked stunned and he sat for a moment in silence. Jason waited for him to get his head around it. As Percy's stepfather, it probably had never even entered into his brain that someone alive could go to hell. Much less come back.

"What about Annabeth? Is she okay?" Paul asked.

"She's in a coma, back on the ship. Percy got her out somehow."

"Is she going to be okay?"

Jason shrugged, "I don't know. She's alive, but from the pieces we've gotten out of Percy, their time in Tartarus was bad on her."

Paul gave him a questioning look, a look that begged for more information. Jason had little, but he could give him what he had.

"Annabeth is so logical," Jason offered. "From what Percy has said, things didn't make sense down there. He said that he was having a hard time figuring out what was real and what wasn't. It would have driven Annabeth mad. Percy dealt with it better, or maybe his father's power was better able to shield him."

Paul said, "Percy doesn't understand a lot that goes on around him. Trust me, I'm his stepfather and his teacher. He's half confused most of the time. He's more, go with the flow."

Jason smiled at the analogy, "Yeah, he is. But he's struggling too. His first move on getting out of Tartarus was to destroy the entrance, using a volcano."

Paul looked somewhere between horrified and proud.

"It's almost killed him," Jason said. "In fact, it should have killed him. It launched him thousands of feet in the air. I caught him before he hit the ground, but it was close."

"But Percy has the Curse of Achilles. His body is invulnerable. That's been the only thing that has allowed Sally and me to sleep at night."

"It's gone. After Hera took his memory, she gave him to Lupa, the goddess who takes in all Roman demigods. Lupa led him to Camp Jupiter and when he entered the protection of the Camp, it washed away the curse. "

"So those scars on his face?"

"He got in Tartartus."

"So he was hurt?"

"Yes."

"How badly?"

It was at that moment when Jason understood Nico's insistence that he come. Jason was the other defacto leader of the seven. It was his job, he was responsible for communicating to everyone when someone had been hurt or killed in battle.

"From what I understood from Piper,"

"You mean Annabeth's friend?"

"Yes, she's my girlfriend. She took care of him. Percy had several broken ribs, a broken arm, multiple cuts, the worst was on his chin down to his collar bone. There was extensive bruising and… well… He set off a volcano; he had a lot of burns. In fact most of his exposed skin was burned badly, his hands, arms, and face."

Paul's mouth fell open.

"There must have been some internal damage that we didn't know about it. It could have been something with his lungs because of the broken ribs. Even with being in the water, and with nectar and ambrosia, he was out of it for almost 4 days. We're still giving him nectar and ambrosia, as much as he can stand."

Paul's eyes grew wide and he bowed his head rubbing his eyes with hand. "Percy," he said, "My poor boy."

There was a mewing sound that Jason couldn't place. But Paul's head shot up, he twisted his head toward the hallway behind them. Jason heard the soft sound again. Paul stood up.

"Excuse me for a minute," he said and he went down the short hallway to a closed door beyond. Jason watched him as he went through the door, the mewing sound growing louder, and then with the shutting door, the sound stopped.

Jason sat alone in the kitchen. Nico wasn't so far off in his prediction after all. He stared for a while at his hands. Then for another few minutes, he tried to control his breathing and relax. Then he stood up and looked out the window for a few more minutes, studying the midtown skyline, it was like watching paint dry.

Jason paced the kitchen. Two steps one way, two steps back. After the tenth time walking the length of it, Jason felt like an idiot. His ADHD was getting the better of him. He spent five minutes alternately fidgeting, then pacing, and then staring out the window, only to pace and fidget again. If only Percy's stepfather would come back.

Jason edged out of the kitchen into the main living area. Percy sat on the couch, his head rolled back onto the cushions. He murmured to his mother. Jason couldn't pick up any of the exact words. She listened, her eyes fixed on his face, drinking him in. Her face would frown in concern or give him an encouraging smile. She held one of his hands in both of hers.

Jason heard the door reopen, and Percy's stepfather came out of a back bedroom. In his arms he held a bundle of blankets that could only be a baby. Jason's mouth dropped open in shock. No one had mentioned this. Nico had some explaining to do. Percy's parents had a new baby? Someone should have told Percy. He was in bad enough shape without thinking that his parents had replaced him.

Paul caught his wife's eyes. With a quick nod, she gave her assent. Jason watched transfixed as Percy's stepfather brought the baby into the room.

"Percy," he said gently. "We have someone here we want you to meet."

Jason edged further into the room, still on the fringes, so he could observe but not intrude. Part of him gathered some power around him, easy enough in an apartment building, so if Percy lost it, Jason could restrain him quickly.

His mother said, "I wanted to tell you in person, not while you were at camp." Then her eyes filled with tears, "but you never came home. And I hoped beyond hope that you would make it home before he came. But you had the goodness to call me, to let me know you were alive, to let me know you were okay. So the day he was born, I was sad that you weren't there, but at least I knew were alive. I had hope that someday you'd meet your brother."

Percy rose slowly off the couch, like he was sore. He walked over to Paul and pulled back the blanket from around the baby's face.

"My brother," Percy whispered. "I can't believe it. What's his name?"

Sally rose to stand next to him, "Jackson Perseus Blofis."

"Jack for short," Paul said with a smile. "His full name is a mouthful."

Percy stared at them in disbelief, his eyes watered, "You named after me?"

"After all of us," Paul said, adjusting the baby in his arms, "Jackson for your mom, Perseus for you, Blofis for me. Do you want to hold him?"

Percy backed up a half step. "He's so little, how old is he?"

Sally answered, "He's five weeks. He's smiling a bit now. Go on Percy, you won't break him."

Jason edged even closer as Percy's stepfather placed the tiny baby into Percy's arms.

"His head is still wobbly, just make sure you support his neck," Paul said.

Percy took the infant with a look of awe on his face. Once Percy got the baby cradled in the crook of his elbow, he stared at the baby like a starving man would stare in a grocery store. Paul steered Percy to an easy chair in the living room and helped him sit down.

"See, Jack," Paul said in that gentle singsong voice of parents everywhere, "I told you he'd come to see you. Your big brother is quite a guy. He's saved the world before. "

Tears, huge fat tears, started falling fast from Percy's eyes. They streamed off of his face on to his hands and on the blanket covering his baby brother.

His mother knelt next to him and wiped away the tears from his eyes, "Baby, are you okay?"

Jason got closer still, wondering the same thing himself.

Percy looked at his mother and said, "Yeah, I am." Then looking down at the bundle in his arms he said to it in a gentle voice, "Hey buddy. I'm sorry I'm late. I should have been here 5 weeks ago when you got here. But I'm probably going to be that kind of brother. It wasn't my fault exactly. My evil aunt stole my memory, sent me to California and then Alaska and then to Greece, and well, then… I fell into Tartarus, with Annabeth, my girlfriend. She's not feeling the best right now, but when she gets better, I'm sure she'll want to meet you. And my friend Hazel, she'll fawn over you like momma bear."

"You're not mad?" Sally asked, tears in her own eyes.

"No," Percy said looking over to his mom confused, "Should I be mad?"

"It was just the two of us for so long, and after Gabe, and the war and everything…"

"She was worried," Paul said, as he sat down on the coffee table in front of them, "that you would feel like we were replacing you. "

"He's yours right," Percy said, looking alarmed for the first time, staring Paul right in the eyes.

Paul chuckled and Sally swatted Percy on the arm.

Sally snapped, "Percy! Of course, how could you ask that?"

"Considering who my father is," Percy said, looking back at her, "It's a fair question."

Paul answered with a faint smile, "Jack's not a demigod. Your father hasn't made an appearance since your fifteenth birthday and the other gods have left us alone. Besides, he looks exactly like my father. It's kind of scary really."

Percy looked back down at the baby in his arms, "That good. I don't think I'd be able to handle it if he were a demigod. The monsters, the nightmares, the fighting, it never ends. Most heroes don't get a happy ending. It's not looking like I will either. I don't want for you buddy." Percy said, looking back at the baby. "I don't. I want you to be the son that I could never be."

"Hey," Paul said, so sharply that Percy looked up.

Paul continued, "None of that. We love you, more than you can possibly imagine. You are a wonderful son. Sally and I are blessed with two wonderful sons. I'm the luckiest guy in the world. Don't think otherwise."

Percy's mom stood up and gave Paul a kiss on the cheek to Percy she said, "I'm the luckiest mother in the whole world. How many other moms of demigods get to have their son alive at the age of 17? I'm the luckiest of all moms in the world"

That's when Jason started to feel it. Jealously. Envy. A longing that he had never felt before settled into his guts. Then Percy's mom sat down on Paul's lap on the coffee table. She reached over and pulled Percy and baby Jack into a hug. Paul wrapped his arms around them all. It hurt, like physical pain, to watch them. Jason had never wanted something so badly in his entire life then to belong in a circle like that.

Percy had a family, and honest to goodness loving family, with two parents that actually cared. He had a mother, a father, and a brother. Jason had never had a family at all, until he met Thalia, his big sister who he was older than now.

The quest members lacked family in general. Leo's mother was dead and his aunt gave him to social services. Hazel's mother had been seduced by Gaea and killed. Frank's mother died in the war in Afghanistan and he also lost his grandmother. Nico's mother had been killed by Zeus. Jason had never really had a mother to begin with. The only other two of the seven that had parents at all were Annabeth and Piper and they struggled with their fathers, both being absent in their own ways.

The Blofis family released their hug, all of them misty eyed. Percy caught sight of Jason standing by the entrance to the kitchen. He broke into a wide smile, one that Jason hadn't seen in ages.

"Jason," Percy said, "Come meet my brother."

Jason shoved the foreign jealous feeling aside and joined them in the room. Percy stood up and met him halfway. Jason looked at the baby and his mouth dropped open. He had never seen a human being so small before. The baby had a swath of black hair and eyes the color of slate. Jason smiled at the tiny person and to his amazement, the baby smiled back to him.

"He's smiling," Percy said locking eyes with Jason. "He must like you."

Then the baby started wailing, a shrill sound, quite loud for something so small.

"Or not," Jason said, with a half laugh.

"What do I do?" Percy asked turning back toward his parents. "Why is he crying?"

"He's hungry," Sally said with a smile.

She walked over and took the baby from Percy, adjusting him on her shoulder, hushing him. The baby stopped crying.

"We should get back, man," Jason said to Percy. "We have to save Camp Half Blood, stop Gaea, save the world."

"Again," Percy muttered under his breath.

Heaviness seemed to settle back on Percy. Something that had been gone a minute before weighed him down like he were carrying a piano.

Percy's mom came over to him, baby still on her shoulder and she wrapped her other arm around him.

"There will be time when you can have the life that you want. When you and Annabeth can be together, you could live on an island or a boat, you could be in the ocean every day. The time is coming Percy. Your father promised me that at some point, your duty to him and to the gods will be done, you will be able to live, really live. All the quests and all of the fighting will be done for you. I thought it was after the war, but it wasn't. He still needs you. Just hold on. Do what you have to do to get through all of this. Hang on for the better world. It's coming."

"Did he say when?" Percy asked.

"No. But he's never broken a promise to me. Nor would he promise anything he couldn't provide. It will happen."

"But Annabeth…" Percy said, breaking off, not able to finish the sentence.

Sally looked alarmed over at Jason.

Jason said to her and to Percy, "She's alive and she fighting. But going to hell is tough on anybody. Give her time. She'll recover. She didn't wait 9 months to get you back just to drop dead. I'm more worried about you. The worst of your injuries seem to have healed, but you drained your power to the point where your heart stopped. You're not eating, you're not drinking, and I don't think you've told us everything."

Percy looked at his mom, over at Jason and then he looked at the floor. Sally handed the baby to Paul and then she touched his shoulder.

"Percy," his mother said in a different tone. "Are you hurt?" Then to Jason, "He has lost the curse of Achilles? And he was injured?"

Jason nodded. "Yes, the curse is gone, and he was injured in Tartarus and in the fight closing the doors of death."

Paul said, "Jason ran it down for me, Sally. We're lucky Percy is still around. "

Sally gave Percy a hard look, "If you're still hurting, we need to know so we can help you."

Percy didn't look at any of them.

"Percy," she said again. "The last time you kept information from me, we were both almost killed by a monster. Let's not go down that road again."

Percy sighed. He looked defeated. After a scan of the room, he pointed to a glass of water on the dining room table. Percy gestured to the water with his right hand, which was trembling, and nothing happened.

To Jason he said, "My power is gone."

Jason exchanged a glance with Percy's mother. That was a bad sign.

"Anything else?" his mother prompted.

"I'm weak," Percy said, "Stiff."

"What about your hand?" Jason asked.

Percy stared at it for a second before saying, "It feels like it fell asleep. All pins and needles. It works, but when I move it too much, it's stings."

"Your ribs were broken," Jason commented. "Does it still hurt to breathe?"

Percy nodded.

"What about your arm?"

Percy glanced at his left forearm, "It's okay. Doesn't hurt."

Sally looked pale, but she said firmly, "Is that everything Percy? We need to know."

"I have been getting these nasty headaches. They hurt worse than my hand."

Jason summed it all together in a concrete problem, which he'd had some trouble with in the past. "And you have trouble concentrating, and when you lie down to sleep, you fall asleep right away, only to wake up an hour later feeling worse, but not able to sleep anymore."

Percy nodded, looking concerned.

"That happens a lot at Camp Jupiter with first generation demigods. We call it demigod exhaustion. Your body is too rundown right now to cope with using your demigod powers. Our powers hurt our mortal bodies. Human flesh can't weld the power of the gods without a cost. When you overuse your powers, they actually hurt you. Right now, it's like you have a broken leg. Anytime you try to use your power, it's like walking on a broken leg, it just makes things worse."

Something like realization dawned on Percy's face.

"What can be done about it?" Sally asked.

"It's exhaustion," Jason said. "There isn't anything that can be done, except to rest. Percy has to rest, even if he can't sleep."

"But the war, and Camp Half Blood, and Gaea…" Percy began.

"If you tried to deal with any of that they way you are feeling right now, you'll die, quickly and you'll probably take someone else with you. We're all better off if you get the rest you need."

"But the camp," Percy protested.

"Might be dealt with using some good negotiation skills," Jason said with a smile. "And if it comes to a fight, Leo might get to use his new Archimedes death ray, Frank could get all dragon on them, Hazel could bring out her magic horse, and Nico could summon a thousand dead warriors. This isn't your fight alone. That's why we are a team."

Paul put a hand on Percy's shoulder, "No one can carry the world alone, Percy."

The baby started to fuss again.

Sally pulled Percy into another hug, placing her head on his chest. "I have to feed him now, Percy. I know you have to go. Please, please, take care of yourself. Do what your friend suggests and rest until you can fight again. I love you so much. Come back and see us when you can."

Tears clung to her cheeks as she took the baby back from Paul. Jack wailed now, as he and his mother disappeared into the back bedroom.

"We need to go," Jason told Percy. "As much as I would like for you stay here until you're feeling better, we need you on the Argo II. Annabeth, especially."

Paul walked them to the door, opening it for them. He stuck out his hand to Jason. Jason took it and Paul squeezed hard.

"Thank you, Jason Grace, for bringing my son home to us."

Jason nodded. Then Paul stuck out his hand for Percy. Percy grabbed his hand and then pulled him into a hug. Percy rested his forehead on his stepfather's shoulder, in almost the same position as his baby brother a few minutes before. Paul held him.

"Take care of them?" Percy said, begging as he let go of his stepfather. "Please."

"You know I will," Paul said. "Take care of yourself, and Annabeth. Come back to us. Who knows, maybe you'll be back for your junior year."

"So I can fail English again?" Percy said with a grin.

"You might pass," Paul said with a smile back. "I could focus entirely on ancient Greek writings, just for you."

Percy smirked at that. He stared at Paul and the apartment inside with longing. They needed to go, but Percy couldn't seem to say good bye. Jason gestured with his head down the hallway and Paul took the hint.

"You need to go," Paul said, putting his hand on his shoulder. "Just remember, we love you, very much. Take care of yourself so you can come back to us."

"I will," Percy said. "I love you too."

With that Percy turned and Jason led him down the hall to the elevator. In silence they retraced their steps, past the nosy doorman, back onto the subway, and back to the harbor.

They climbed back on board to Couch Hedge humming an old Queen ballad.

"Hello cupcakes," he said to them smiling. "Everyone is in the infirmary. Annabeth woke up."

Percy's eyes widened and he took off at a half sprint toward the stairs.

Coach chided from behind them, "No running on the stairs, it's all fun and games until someone breaks an arm."

Percy burst through the infirmary door, with Jason a half step behind.

"Annabeth?" he asked, looking around the room.

Annabeth was sitting up, leaning against the wall. Piper sat next to her on the bed, her arm around her shoulders. The others were crowded around the bed. As soon as Percy walked over, they parted and let him in close to her.

"Seaweed brain," she said softly, extending a hand out to him.

Percy took it. She pulled him closer and he sat on the edge of the bed. She looked at him for a moment and then she launched forward and grabbed him tightly. They held each other for a few moments while everyone watched.

"You look terrible," Annabeth said to Percy, leaning back to look at him.

"He needs rest," Jason said.

Jason grabbed Percy by the arm and pulled him away from Annabeth. Annabeth and Percy both protested, but Jason ignored them. He hog marched Percy to a nearby cot and forced him to lay down. Then using the winds, he pushed the bed closer to Annabeth's, where he could reach out and touch her if he wanted. Then he grabbed a glass of water from Annabeth's bedside and put it on a table in easy reach of Percy.

"When and only when, you can move the water in that glass, will you be allowed out of bed. You will eat every meal that Piper brings to you, and if you don't rest or eat, I will sic Buford the Table on you."

"Dude," Leo said, "That's not really fair to Buford."

Percy smiled, it looked for a second that he would try and protest Jason's order, but instead, his eyes fell shut. He reached out and grabbed Annabeth's hand. His breathing evened out.

Annabeth looked between Piper and Jason and then at Percy's fingers intertwined with hers. "What's wrong with him?"

"He's exhausted," Jason said. "He overused his powers."

Annabeth nodded, "Piper said he went to see his mom. How did it go?"

Jason gave her a smile, "He was thrilled."

"What?" Piper said, looking back and forth between them.

"Percy has a new baby brother," Annabeth said.

"A baby?" Hazel said happily. "I love babies. They make everything better."

"The guy has an actual family," Jason wistfully, "I'm sure it makes everything better."

"Whoa," Leo said, "Do I detect jealousy from the Jason department? Does that mighty son of Jupiter feel a wee bit jealous of the sea god's son?"

"No," Jason bristled, "Of course not."

"You're turning red. You're totally lying," Leo said.

Piper snickered, "I guess everyone feels jealous about something."

Nico added, "Percy's family is nice."

"I am not jealous of Percy Jackson," Jason said hotly, "in anyway."

"You so are," Leo said.

Annabeth, giving Percy's hand another squeeze and Jason an actual smile said, "When it comes to his family, aren't we all a bit jealous?"

They all exchanged furtive looks with other, realized one at a time that she was right.


End file.
